Ebay car buying... what's your experience?

I'm thinking of getting a hot rod from an Ebay auction.
Just wondering if any of you have successfully won an Ebay auction
and what sort of ups and downs you have had.

 

we got an off-topic car on ebay several years ago, only bid on ones that were within close enough driving distance to go inspect personally before laying down the $$$$

I've seen about an 80% success rate with friends buying cars over the internet. Many sellers are honest and reasonable, but a few are out to screw you.

 

Gary, I have both bought and sold a number of hot rods on E-Bay. My experience in every case was great. You just have to know who your dealing with. A 5 minute conversation on the phone will help you make that decision. Ask lots of questions. Just be sure you get the title with the vehicle.

 

I've bought 2 cars from eBay and 1 from the HAMB - all 3 sight unseen except for photos. In every case some things were better than described or pics showed and some things worse. Overall it has been a positive experience. You just have to be prepared to be surprised in either direction . . .

 

I've bought and sold. Ask lots of questions and get lot of pictures if you can't go look at it. Maybe even a vehicle inspection.

 

couple years ago i bought a 1940 dodge sedan and when i got there after 200+ plus miles the vin on the title didnt match the vin tag on the car...that sucked, but i took it anyways and was able to title it so it turned out ok for me

i just almost got screwed recently by a seller in which i had won the auction on a chopped 48 shoebox for $8400 and then it was gonna be $600 to have him deliver it. i spoke with the guy after auction end on the phone and everything was sounding great, discussed delivery and he was to show up the following wednesday with the car, was mid day of d-day and no calls or shows.

i called him and he then stated that he did not yet have the title back from the state (after i clearly asked in an ebay message if he did have it) but was offering to leave his plates and insurance card so i could drive it til the title came in for him to mail it out...

glad he didnt want cash deposit and preferred cash in hand dealing because i told him to beat it. tried fling a non paying bidder claim and threatened legal matter outside of ebay to make me pay for a car with no title.

just make sure to ask the right questions and make sure to get clear answers if you can not look at it person is all i can recommend

good luck

 

Depending on how much your spending, it may be worth it to make a trip to check the vehicle yourself. It could save you a bunch of money. Otherwise, lots of pictures, even video if possible and info, info, info!

 

I've bought 4 or 5 cars on eBay , a couple of Hot Rods and some OT drivers . Always call the seller first , have your list of ??? in front of you , ask hard ones too . They need to answer in a straight forward way , not a bunch of "well , you know how it is" stuff . Most cars are not what you think they will be , usually 10-15% less . 2 of my purchases were better than I thought they would be . I bought a '27 "T" for the ARDUN engine and running gear , now in my '32 Roadster . It was excellent , but I spoke to the seller twice before I bid........Use caution.

 

One 94 Mustang Convert GT 5l no problems even with the shipping.
1 Jeep CJ no problems
4 54 chevys for parts cars........all no problems.
Two were shipped, the parts cars I went and got......

 

Communication is key. I've made two purchases that went fine, but just a couple of days ago I found an OT F250 with less than 12 hours left at a good price. Put it on my sniper and won at a low price. The seller had a phone # in his description, I tried to call prior to the auction ending but no answer. Tried again after the auction ended, no answer, left msg. Several msg's through ebay email as well. He finally replied online saying, thanks it was a pleasure. I was confused because I had still not had any contact with him. Turns out someone else had called him claiming to be the auction winner, made arrangements and came payed for it and picked it up. I let him know it wasn't me and he seemed to be just as surprised as I was. I let it go cause I didn't really need the truck, but I suppose it was actually theft. I warned the seller to make sure the payment wasn't fake, but never heard back from him since. Could have been another bidder who pulled the number off the description, or he didn't want to sell it to me because the price was too low so he made up a story. I guess I'll never know for sure.

 

I sold 2 this year, too many in my fleet. I was honest as i could be, posted all the issues I was aware of. Posted pics of problem areas, answered questions honestly.

I will say that I am wary of anything I can't look over myself. I've looked at buying vehicles from a distance online and just can't do it.

Devin

 

make sure you can afford to lose the money if things go sideways! crying after after the fact won't make the deal go right. i have been lucky but ask 10 times more questions than needed and then your covered plus don't be blind to "red flags"!

 

I just had a bad experience trying to sell a car on ebay - A guy with 100% feedback and 150 transactions hit the Buy it Now button for a $1675. parts car and then there was nothing but silence on his end.....He ignored my emails and didn't answer my calls. I had to wait a week to get my seller final value fees back....

The clincher is that this moron gets to keep his 100% feedback rating and I can't leave him any negative feedback......I'll never bother trying to sell another car on there. He's lucky I'm not 10 years younger, I'd hop on a plane and go to his house and give him a tune-up.

 

Have done it once - the first and the last time. Vehicle was purchased from a ''classic car dealer'' with great ebay rating etc. Got LOTS of photos. Probably have 2 hours total on the phone with them, asking very specific questions and discussing my needs/wants. 3 dozen or so emails. Thought I had my bases covered.
The attorneys are now involved...

 

it works, but I would throw in this; if you have a car your interested in and its close to a HAMB'er, get a description from the owner, share the info with a HAMB'er, have them look at it and report back to you on the condition.

That will give you a good idea on the condition and operability of the the car.

 

Hah! Laughed my axe off at this one...I once boarded a plane in San Jose Municipal Airport (1969, before "San Jose Int'ntl.") and flew to Chicago, just to hire a cab and drive to the outskirts and punch a cocky bastard thru the screen door, a 'one-punch fight'. K.O.ed the dumb bunny, then went to a Chicago barbershop I'd heard about for a 'razor-cut'!
A wiseass on the internet was made wise to my ways of 'the last word', and settled immediately, (after I suggested it was the 'right thing to do'...)
Wonder if I could still hit that hard...if not, it could be an awakening in masochism! LOL

 

Man , if there is any way to fly out and look at it or see if you can get someone in the city to look at it for you , maybe a Hamber or I called a speed shop in the town and they looked at the car I was looking at on ebay for a couple of hundred, I did buy 2 rods trusting only the pictures and the owners answers to my questions , Both lied to me , I ended up getting screwed 2 of 3 times, and I mean screwed bad , One guy selling a 36 3 window told me it had a Mustang 2 front suspension and it had an early corvair front suspension, poorly installed at that , I know the guy knew the difference, Buyer beware unless you get someone on the ground that knows what he is looking at , ,,Sam

 

As far as buying, I once drove 900 miles each way ( when gas was 4.00 a gallon) to look at a misrepresented car before the bidding ended...... Thank God I didn't take the seller on his word...It was the best time and money I ever wasted.

 

Actually the same thing happened to me once, but i was on the other end of it. We sold a car on ebay. Dude called shortly after the end of the auction and arranged payment and pick up. Came, paid and left. About 2 weeks later i get an ebay message from the high bidder with an apology that he hasn't called or sent a deposit.

Long story short someone else claiming to be the winner came and snatched the car up. Had the actual winner of the auction not turned out to be somewhat of a deadbeat bidder i might have caught it. Regardless i gave him the guy who came and bought the cars info, but i don't know if he pursued him. Pretty crazy though that someone gambled fraud to get someone else's good deal.


But to the original point of this thread, you'll find plenty of stories on both ends of the spectrum but if you are really concerned with build quality or body work, go see it or have someone local to it, possibly even from the HAMB go look at it for ya.

 

One suggestion would be finding out where the car is and either ask for help from H.A.M.B. that lives in the same area to look at it for you,or another way is the N.S.R.A. fellow pages for someone to look at it......just a suggestion. Good luck.

 

.......Buyer beware......... really check out the seller as much as the car.....

 

Thanks so much for your help guys.
You all brought up stuff that might not have occurred to me.

Looks like I need to find a HAMB'r near Athens, GA that might be willing to look at the car for me. I'll be talking to the owner/builder tonight so thanks for your input.
Who knows; maybe he's a HAMB'r himself.

Most appreciated!

GaryC.

 

I bought Mrs. PF a late model Buick on Ebay from a new car dealer in St. Louis area recently without looking at it first and they even delivered it. Everything was perfect and the price was fair too. They were a Mercedes dealership. Very good experience. Have bought cars from Bobwop at his collector car dealership ( www.topnotchvehicles.com ) sight unseen before too with positive results. As for buying from an individual not looking for repeat customers???? Risky---

 

Bought quite a few OT cars and my Plymouth on ebay. Never flew to the US to see, but did phone and made sure I asked the right questions. Sure, there will be people out there who have been screwed/or misrepresent, but in my experience, this is an absolute minority group. Maybe my trust in real honest people is still there... haven't been screwed yet. (and I'm on the other side of the world)

 

I've sold quite a few cars on there and it seems the cheaper the car the more problems it attracts. I have bought a few as well with both good and bad results.

I sold an OT 4x4 that was raised with big tires a few years back. The guy even emailed for measurements to make sure it would fit on a rented trailer. Paid for it with paypal and then shows up a week or so later to get it with a small uhaul.

They loaded the truck and it was hanging off every corner of the trailer and I just happened to snap a picture of it with my camera phone.

From there it went down hill. While trying to pull out a dirt road they got into a ditch and stuck. After waiting for a wrecker they finally got out only to go a few miles down the road and determine it was too dangerous to take back to FL. Pulled in somewhere and sold the truck for a couple hundred bucks and then proceeded to file a claim with paypal stating they had never picked the truck up.

The only thing that saved me in that deal was having the picture of it loaded on a trailer behind their truck.

My best advice is if you are selling make sure you cover yourself. Also take as many pics and describe the vehicle worse then it is. If you are buying ask plenty of questions and either go look at it, have someone check it for you or know what you are buying enough to have wiggle room if it is not as described. If you cant buy it under those terms wait for the next one to come along that you can.

 

Transactions on fee-bay as a buyer, or as a seller requires a bit of trust on your fellow being..if you can overcome that, you will have more opportunities to find what you are looking for, as well as finding a home for what you are selling. Unfortunately not all people are honest..therefore certain risks are involved. Just like in any transaction, in which you turn over your hard earned cash..do your research. Talk directly to the seller prior to auction close (and your bidding)..if he/she won't give you their number, or doesn't respond to your e-mails-move on. Feedback ratings help, but don't tell the whole story. I have sold several vehicles on fee-bay, and have bought a couple. I appreciate that it exists, as it makes the worlds marketplace a lot bigger, and more accessible.

 

bought over 30-40 old cars on eBay... Mostly good experiences. If the seller is not showing certain areas my experience is that there are issues with those areas. If you have any questions regarding areas not shown clearly in photos ask for more pictures. Absolutely true about feedback. READ the feedback it will give you an idea of the character of the seller. Ask them to call you I get a better sense of who I am dealing with when I am able to talk to them and find out just how much knowledge they have of the car they are selling. Just my 2 cents....

 

i bought 2 street rods from ebay. one the seller told me the truth and the other seller lied like a rug! even the transporter called me and asked me if i saw the car. pictures and sellers lie! the car i have now i went and saw it. i never will buy without seeing first and i recommend you do the same!

 

I've sold a few cars on eBay, I always describe to the best of my ability and I always invite the potential buyer to come out and have a look at the car, take it for a ride, etc. . .

I take a and send whatever pictures they request.

A lot of time sellers get frustrated. For every serious guy who calls there's a hundred guys who call that don't even have the money to buy the car. They just want to feel like they're in the game, calling and looking at cars they can't afford.

So my advice is that if you're not serious don't waste anyone's time. . . and if you are serious, go take a look at the car.

 

Just did the eBay thing, after 7 months of looking. Take someone's advice from earlier, since your on this Forum take advantage of using any of us on here! Unless you can see the vehicle in person, your just rolling the dice bud! I can't tell you how many trucks I went and saw , drove around everywhere, and I'm glad I did.